New findings from the latest National Parent Survey, Britain’s largest annual parent poll, explore the challenges parents face when discussing sensitive topics with their children.
The survey commissioned by Parentkind finds that parents are much more confident in their ability to talk to their children about issues ranging from online safety, household finances and mental health but are more likely to struggle with sex and porn.
Almost 1 in 3 parents (30%) would find it hard to talk about pornography, and 1 in 4 (24%) would find it hard to talk about sex with their children.
Dads struggle the most to talk about sex and porn. While about a quarter of all parents say they would find it hard to talk to their children about sex, and a third find it hard to talk to their children about pornography, it’s fathers who struggle with the tricky topics more than mums.
Talking about Sex:
- Easy: Mums 51% – Dads 42%
- Difficult: Mums 22% – Dads 25%
Talking about Pornography:
- Easy: Mums 43% – Dads 39%
- Difficult: Mums 30% – Dads 31%
The data also reveals a significant gap when it comes to talking about mental health. Most parents say they find it easy to talk to their children about mental health but are less likely to be open about their own mental health problems. 7 in 10 (70%) parents find it easy to talk about their child’s mental health, but fewer than half (47%) find it easy to talk to their child about their own mental health.
Jason Elsom, CEO, Parentkind, said: “It’s perhaps no surprise that so many parents find it difficult to have those very awkward conversations with their own children. However, in a world where most children have access to the internet at a very early age, it’s never been more important to discuss how parents can provide the trusted and caring advice only they can give to their own children.”
Notes to Editors
Link to National Parent Survey: National Parent Survey
The National Parent Survey was conducted online by YouGov. The fieldwork took place from 27th March to 18th April 2025 amongst 5,866 parents in England (3,391), Scotland (1,309), Wales (865) and Northern Ireland (301), who have at least one child aged 4 to 18 in school. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK parents. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov plc. Analysis and reporting was carried out by Parentkind. Data Tables available on request
About ParentKind
Parentkind is the UK’s largest parent charity, working with more than 24,000 Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs), Parent Councils, and schools across the UK.
Parentkind’s network of 14,200 parent and teacher groups raised more than £140 million last year for schools and their children.
Parentkind is the voice of parents in education through regular parent polling and the National Parent Survey, the UK’s largest annual parent poll.
AXA Health CEO, Heather Smith, said:
“At AXA Health, we support individuals and families with their health and wellbeing. Over 70% of our members have a family and we know how important the health and wellbeing of their loved ones is for them.
“So many parents in the UK are not only looking after their own health but juggling the health of elderly relatives and children too. We are always striving to improve our services to help families with their health. That is why we have updated our policies to allow cover for dependents at different addresses, digitalised services to support fast access to care and offer a dedicated service to support children and young people’s mental health.
“AXA Health is proud to support the National Parent Survey as it is a vital resource for society and decision makers to understand the experience of parents and families today, with critical insights into their health and wellbeing.”